Broken Ties
by HerBreadBoyPN
Summary: After Katniss's father dies in the September 11 attacks when she is only five, will she be able to put the pieces of her life back together? Will she be able to do it with the help of a certain blond-headed boy? Set in present day America. highly AU. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Broken Bonds

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games in any way, shape, form, or fashion. This is just my shot at an AU story.**

**The incessant beeping of the alarm clock that lies next to Katniss's face is enough to rouse her from her restless slumber. Her breathing is shallow, and her body is dripping with sweat. She had been knee-deep in yet another nightmare. Her father had died almost eleven years ago, but there are nights where she still wakes up screaming for him to run. Her father had been in one of the towers on September 11, 2001. It is true that she had been only five when her father died, but she can remember the day like it was yesterday.**

**FLASHBACK:**

**It started like any other day. Her father had waked her by gently singing as he opened the door to her room. The second that she heard his beautiful voice, her eyes shot wide open and with a huge smile on her face, ran to her father and gave him a tight hug. Katniss had always been a daddy's girl, and this was quite clear to everyone. He whispered quietly in her ear, "Your mother woke up early and made breakfast, so why don't you get ready for school, and then come and join us. Okay?"**

**The thought of breakfast already being made excited her, so Katniss extracted herself from her father's grasp, and ran to the bathroom. Brushing her teeth quickly upon arrival, Katniss rushed back to her room, and put on the clothes that her mother had laid out for her the night before. She took one look at herself in the mirror, and smiled before she walked down the stairs.**

**All of her family was already around the table. Katniss's mother was holding Prim, Katniss's new-born sister, who was gently nursing off of the bottle that lie in her mother's other hand. Her father was setting the table. Katniss allowed her eyes to trail off, and that's when she noticed the food. Her mouth practically drops off of her body, she had never seen so much at one time. There were warm pancakes, steaming sausage, fresh biscuits, and a large assortment of different jellies lying on the table. Katniss feels her mouth physically start to water, but somewhere in the back of her mind there is a voice telling her that all of this is too good to be true. Her family didn't have enough money to afford all of this. They were one overdue bill away from being placed on welfare.**

**Her father seems to have taken note of her reaction, and answers softly, "We wanted to splurge a little, since today is such a special day." He adds a wink near the end of the phrase, and she cannot help but raise an eyebrow. "What's so special about today?" Katniss adds clueless of the meaning behind his words. "Why Katniss Everdeen, I thought that you would remember. Today is your first day of school." Mr. Everdeen adds chuckling slightly.**

**Katniss feels like the breath had been knocked right out of her, and her voice starts to quit on her as she answers, "I have school… t-today?" The color all at once leaves her face and her legs begin to turn to jelly under her. All of the appetite that she had previously possessed vanished in that instant of realization. She somehow manages to make it to her seat though and plops down in defeat. Placing her head on the table in a feeble attempt to hide the tears that were building in her eyes from her parents, she allows her salty tears to stain the white table-cloth.**

**Her father, never one to miss a beat when it came to his daughter, rushed instantly to her side and held her in his strong arms. He lightly kisses the top of her head and whispers against her skin that everything will be okay. When she still does not calm down, he plays his trump card, the only thing that has been able to calm both Katniss and Prim since their birth. He slowly begins to sing.**

_**Deep in the meadow, under the willow**_

_**A bed of grass, a soft green pillow**_

_**Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes**_

_**And when again they open, the sun will rise.**_

_**Here it's safe, here it's warm**_

_**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**_

_**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**_

_**Here is the place where I love you.**_

_**Deep in the meadow, hidden far away**_

_**A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray,**_

_**Forget your woes and let your troubles lay**_

_**And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.**_

_**Here it is safe, here it's warm**_

_**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**_

_**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**_

_**Here is the place where I love you.**_

**Once he begins, Katniss slowly begins to relax until finally, when he hits the last note, she cannot remember what she was upset about in the first place. She does not let her father go, though. She forces him to sit in her chair with her. Katniss is not normally this cling, but there is just something off about today. There is a chill in the air today, and it has her on edge. Something is telling her that today is not going to be a good day.**

**She fills her plate with some of all the food that her mother was kind enough to prepare. The pancakes taste as good as they look, especially with the syrup that her father had picked up last night. The sausage tastes wonderful especially with the warm, buttery, fluffiness of the biscuits to compliment it. She had never had jelly before, but after tasting it she knew that once would not be enough. It was sweet, and sugary, but not overly so.**

**Just as she is finishing her food, the alarm on her father's watch goes off. Katniss had been so taken with the food that she had not noticed what time it was. Her eyes travel over to the clock that hangs on the wall and sees that it clearly reads 7:00. Mr. Everdeen always left for work at exactly 7:00, but Katniss feels like there is something ominous surrounding the entire situation today, and tries to prevent her dad from leaving. At first she attempts feigning illness, but her father thinks that this is only her trying to get out of going to school again, and brushes it off. Next she tries to convince her mother to get her father to stay, but she is too caught up in rocking Prim to even take notice of her. Katniss is failing miserably, and before she can think of another way to win over her father, he is walking out the door. She tries running to catch him, but the door clicks shut just as she gets there.**

**Katniss's hands fumble with the door knob, but by the time that she finally gets it open his car has taken off down the street. She was too late. Katniss was on the verge of tears and she sank down on the steps outside of her house defeated. Her mother, who had in the meantime laid Prim back down in her crib noticed that the door was open and walked outside, only to see her daughter. It was then that she noticed the tears and moved to sit down beside Katniss. She wrapped her loving arms around her daughter and held her for a moment whispering that everything was going to be alright. Of course she had no idea of the real reason that Katniss was upset. She just thought that her daughter was nervous because of school.**

**Mrs. Everdeen somehow got Katniss up and back inside of the house. She guided her into the room that she and Mr. Everdeen shared and set her in front of the mirror. Mrs. Everdeen slowly began to brush her hair, untangling it from the disheveled state that it was now in. After getting Katniss's hair the way she wanted it. Mrs. Everdeen began to braid her hair, but instead of the typical one braid look that Katniss traditionally sported, Katniss begged her mother for two. Katniss liked the feeling of her mother's clever fingers in her hair and did not want her to stop after only one braid today. She was trying to keep her mind off of the fact that there was a chill in the air.**

**Before Katniss knew it though, it was time to go to school. As it turns out, the school that she would be attending was only a block away, but since today was her first day, Mrs. Everdeen determined to walk her there. Katniss was not one to argue today though; she wanted all the comfort that she could get. Her mother went and got the stroller from the hall closet, and Prim from the bedroom. Katniss was actually glad that Prim was coming today. She loved her sister dearly. People tell Katniss that Prim was going to look just like her, but with that blond hair that was popping up, Katniss was not so sure. She personally thought that Prim was going to look like their mother. Katniss looks like their father though; she has his olive skin, his dark hair, and his deep grey eyes.**

**Once her mother finished wrestling Prim into the stroller, they set off. Katniss turned back and took one last look at the spot where her father's car had previously been parked, and shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. She needed to stop worrying about her dad for the time being and focus on her own problems, like how she was going to survive the first day of school.**

**Katniss and her mother have only been walking for a few minutes when suddenly in the distance she sees a bright yellow building with a sign reading: Williamsbridge Elementary School. She suddenly tenses up and clings tightly to the small backpack that she had carried. Her mother seems to take notice of this reaction and reaches down gently to pet her daughter's hair. Katniss is somewhat shocked by her mother's touch, as she is never this understanding with her. She only helps when father isn't around, and it always seems like she does not have a clue about how to help her daughter, but this, this gesture, it seems so natural and comforting that Katniss cannot help but bask in her mother's touch.**

**Katniss feels her mother slowly stop stroking her hair but does not want her to. She places her hand on top of her mother's as if to say "Stay with me." Her mother leans down and kisses her daughter's hand before pulling her own away. "Katniss, you have to go to school now. Come on. It will be fun. I promise," tell her mother as she let's go of Katniss's hand. "Okay," is all that Katniss is able to manage before her teacher picks her up and drags her away from her mother.**

**Tears begin to pour down Katniss's cheeks as the day just feels so wrong to her. She does not want to imagine a day away from her mother or her father for that matter. She does not want to have to make friends, but she knows that she must. Her eyes glance around the room, and she takes note of an unnaturally tall, and strangely muscular boy named Cato, an incredibly beautiful blond named Glimmer, a small soft-spoken girl named Clove, a tall and lanky brunette named Marvel, and a red-head who is silently stealing cookies from a jar. All of these kids seem to be caught up in their own business, so she just leaves them be. A few minutes pass and then a muscular boy with darker skin walks in, but he appears to be soft-spoken, and last of all coming in ten minutes late is someone who catches Katniss's eye for a moment. A blond-headed boy with some of the most sensual blue eyes imaginable walks in with a huge smile on his face, as if saying that he would not rather be anywhere else in the world.**

**Katniss looks up at the clock on the wall of the preschool room, and sees that it reads 8:40. "Good," she mutters to herself, "maybe today will go by quickly." She turns around and notices the blond boy is looking at her. She turns her head and looks back at him curiously for a moment before he waves. She laughs and waves back at him without hesitating. This causes the boy to grin from ear to ear before he makes his way over to her.**

**The boy stops right in front of her, still wearing that grin that he had worn only a moment ago. Now that he is so close, Katniss can see that there is a small gap between his two front teeth and laughs. The boy had just recently lost a tooth. He spoke with a huge smile, and seemed to be oozing confidence, "Hi! I'm Peeta. Peeta Mellark!" Katniss could not help but laugh as the boy introduced himself. She followed soon after though, "I'm Katniss Everdeen"**

**The boy was just about to say something when suddenly a loud shriek comes from the teacher. All of the kids in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and looked right at the teacher curiously. One teacher stood by her desk on the phone, looking like she was about to cry, and the other up against the window looking at a black cloud of smoke rising in the distance. Katniss could tell that she was struggling to keep up composure, but her suspicions were not confirmed until the teacher said that all the students were going to get to go home early today. Katniss might have only been five, but she knew that this was not a good thing.**

**A couple of minutes after the teacher screamed, Katniss's mother arrived panting hard, and covered with sweat. She looks as though she had just run a marathon. The teacher instantly handed Katniss over to her mother, who rushed her home. Mrs. Everdeen asked, well about demanded, Katniss to go upstairs and go to Prim's room and play with her. Her mom turned on the television to some news station and more or less stared at it muttering, "Please be okay."**

**Katniss did not like the fact that her mother was behaving weirdly, but did not push the issue. She was not sure why her mother was upset, and she really did not want to know why. If it was enough to upset the generally stoic Mrs. Everdeen, then it was definitely enough to upset emotional hot-headed Katniss. Katniss could not help but worry about her father do. The chill in the air was more present now than ever.**

**Her suspicions were not confirmed until that night though, when she ran downstairs and asked her mother when her father would be home. Mrs. Everdeen, who was obviously holding back tears, just said, "Daddy got called on a business trip, and might not be home for a few days." After this, her mother walked over to her, and hugged her tightly finally allowing the tears that had built to escape. Katniss might only be five, but she could not buy into her mother's words. No matter how hard she tried to believe her mom, something inside of her was saying, "He's not coming back." Unfortunately for her that little voice was right. Her father was dead. He was not coming back home. The last memory she has of her father is him singing to her, and she was going to hold on to that for as long as she could. It was all she had left of the man that she admired most in the world.**

**END OF FLASHBACK**

**Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, her gaze shifts down to the clock, and Katniss sees that is already 7:30. "Shoot! I am going to be late," Katniss yelled as she practically threw herself out of bed. Next month would be eleven years since his death, but no matter how hard she tried she cannot put it behind her. That was the last happy day in her life, and the saddest one as well. It was the day that her family had been apart forever.**


	2. Visions in the Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All credit goes to Suzanne Collins. This is just my take on the story line.**

Chapter 2: Visions in the Night

**Peeta Pov:**

Peeta was running, but from what? He turns around and sees a creäture that makes his heart sink down to his stomach. It had the body of a wolf, but that was where the resemblance stopped. It was walking around on its hind legs, like a human. This thing ran with speed that could be matched by only a cheetah. That is not what was terrifying about the beast though; it was that it had fur of a color that resembled his own blond hair, broad shoulders, as well as eyes that looked exactly like a mirror image of his own. Peeta was staring at a monstrous version of himself.

Before he knew what happened his perspective changed. No longer was he staring at the wolf, but now he had become the wolf. His senses were heightened, and a sudden surge of blood lust overran his subconscious. He had the urge to kill, but not just stop there. He wanted to devour the victim in its entirety.

When the sound of a twig snapping echoes from the right he sets out. Running as fast as his hybrid body would carry him. It is not long, however before he comes upon his victim to be. The girl turns around and immediately lets an arrow fly into the mutt's shoulder-blade. Of course this only angers Peeta and will only make the kill more satisfying when he finally gets his way.

The girl, however, is resourceful and pulls a knife, as she skillfully dodges Peeta's lounge at her. She appears to be quite able with the knife, which is made clear by the way she is able to scratch up the monstrous wolf man. Her efforts are in vain though because the thick hide that the mutt possesses cannot be pierced by something as insignificant as this knife.

The girl makes one strike with all of her might, and to her misfortune, the blade breaks from the hilt. The girl curses the Capitol under her breath for giving her such a feeble blade, and raises her head to glare at the abomination standing in front of her. With one last growl, Peeta lashed out at her, wishing that he hadn't once he saw the familiar grey eyes of the girl in front of him, but it was too late to stop, and he ripped the girl right in two.

Peeta awoke with a start, his breathing shallow, and his body coated in a thin layer of sweat. He sits up quickly, burying his face in his hands, in a feeble attempt to clear his head of the visions that are still tormenting him. He had allowed himself to be lost in the visions. The scared look that those eyes reflected could only be matched by the pure horror and agony contained in her blood-curdling scream. Normally Peeta would not have let a dream get to him, but those eyes… He knew exactly who they belong to; after all he had crushed on their owner for eleven years now. He closes his eyes and soon he is staring right at the face of Katniss Everdeen.

Peeta is not entirely sure about what it is that he sees in Katniss Everdeen, but ever since that day when they first spoke, she was the only one that held his attention. Sure he had looked at other girls could ever make him feel like he did when he looked at Katniss. His heart would flutter inside of his chest, his palms would start to sweat, his voice would catch in the back of his throat and butterflies would seem almost instantly in his stomach. He had spoken to this girl once in his entire life, and yet she still had a way of making him become unhinged. That day had been the high point of his existence thus far, with the time he had thrown a game winning touchdown pass in the last ten seconds coming in a close second.

His eyes flickered over to the clock that lies on his bed side table, and he sees that it clearly reads 3:00 A.M. There was no way that he was going to be able to go back to sleep tonight, that nightmare had really done a number on his sub-conscious, and he was not ready to make another attempt at sleeping. "It was just a dream, Peeta. A nightmare meant to torment you. Just relax. Katniss is safe. You did not really hurt her. She's fine, probably just asleep in her own house. "He mutters all of this to himself out loud, hoping to prove it to himself.

The muttering had done what it was intended for though, as he is indeed calming down. His breathing is gradually slowing down, and his eyelids are growing heavier with each passing second. His thoughts return to Katniss, of that day when they first met one another. The memory repeats on a seemingly endless loop as he finally drifts back off. The world of his dreams is no longer horrifying, but instead pleasurable. He knows this day far too well. It was the day when he first met the only person who captivates his interest.

**DREAM SEQUENCE/FLASHBACK**

Peeta's father pulls into the parking lot before rushing to the back seat to unbuckle his youngest son from his car seat. After all he was already late, on the first day of school nonetheless. As he was finally able to free his son, he picked him up and guided him through the front door of the building to where the class rosters were hung up in an organized way.

Peeta could not help but stare quizzically at his father who had a focused expression on his face as he attempted to read the lists, but despite his best efforts, the print has were far too small for his old eyes to handle. Mr. Mellark lets out a defeated sigh before he pulls out his glasses from the case that permanently remained in his back pocket. Peeta saw his father's countenance relax as he was now able to read the roster.

A few minutes pass and Peeta wonders what in the world is taking his dad so long, but when he looks at his dad's face he sees something that confuses him. His father is smiling fondly at something on the list. Peeta's eyes scan the piece of paper over, but since he cannot read all he is really doing is wasting his time. He pulls on the apron that was tied around his father's waist in trying to get him to move. Once Mr. Mellark realizes his son's intention he blushes embarrassed for a reason that remains unknown to Peeta. "Okay, Peeta your classroom is just down the hall to the left," he says with a light smile as he takes his son's hand in his own. Mr. Mellark had always been overly gentle with little Peeta for two reasons, the first being that Peeta was the only one of his son's that both looked and acted like him, and the other being because his wife was always rough with the youngest boy, and would not hesitate to beat the child for any minor offense that he might commit.

Mr. Mellark sighed as he saw the latest addition to his wife's handiwork scarring the forehead of his youngest son. It made his blood curl slightly as he never imagined that anyone could beat a kid as ruthlessly as she does, but what could he do about it now? The woman that he had wanted to marry had run off with a poor entrepreneur, and left him to come up with his own means of establishing a legacy. His love for the woman never faded though, so when he finally met the woman who was his wife it added strain. She would never be able to replace his first love in his heart. No matter how bad the marriage was though, he had gained the one thing that he had always wanted from his wife, the kids.

The baker had been so lost in his thoughts that he did not realize that they had arrived at Peeta's classroom until his son began to pull on his apron once more. "Daddy, is this my classroom?" The boy asked in a respectful way. The baker could not help but smile at his son and nod. "Yes, Peeta, it is," he added with a cheerful tone before opening his arms up to Peeta, "Come here. I want to show you something." Peeta grinned from ear to ear and ran into his father's extended arms. "What is it, dad?" Peeta implored as his father lifted him from the ground. His dad soon moved to where Peeta could see through the small window that was built in the door, and pointed to a little girl with dark hair, and olive skin. "Do you see that girl, Peeta?" Peeta quickly nodded to show his father that he was paying attention. The girl was probably one of the most beautiful people that he had ever seen, but he is too distracted by his father's words to take in the stimuli that his feelings are providing. "I wanted to marry her mother," Mr. Mellark began, and Peeta could tell that there was some sort of underlying feeling on the part of his father, "But she ran off with an entrepreneur before I could propose to her." Peeta's eyebrows rocketed skyward as his father says this. He had known that his father only married his mother because he had to, but he had not imagined a back story quite like this from him. "Why did she run off with another man?" Peeta asked clearly clueless about why someone would want anyone other than the impossibly kind man that he knew as his father.

His father's mood suddenly changes to one that he has not seen in a long time. Sadness. The tears that are building in his eyes are easy to spot. This woman had truly broken his heart if he was still able to be this emotional after she left him so long ago. Peeta's hands stretch out in front of him, as he does something that makes him seem so much older than five. He wipes the tears from his father's eyes and gives him a gentle smile saying that everything was going to be fine. This definitely takes Mr. Mellark by surprise, but it also tells him something about his son that makes him smile. Peeta has a heart of pure gold. He would do anything that he could to help his father feel better. With this new-found hope that his son granted him, he sets Peeta down and opens the door whispering to where only his son can here, "Peeta, you're the best child a parent could ask for." Peeta turns back, wearing a huge grin from ear to ear as he waves goodbye to his father.

Once Peeta arrives in the room he notices that the little girl his father had pointed out was looking at him, and walks over to talk to her. "Hi, "Peeta says wearing a huge toothy grin, "I am Peeta. Peeta Mellark. What's your name?" The girl blushes a light shade of pink, proving that she is just as shy as ever before she barely whispers her name, "I'm Katniss Everdeen." Now it is Peeta's turn to blush as he hears her name. It was an uncommon name for sure, but there was something that just seemed so right about it. The name seemed to fit the little girl perfectly. Peeta takes in the look of the girl for just another moment and takes note of a few important details: the first being that her hair is in two intricately woven braids, the second was that she was wearing a beautiful read dress, and the last was her scent, that seemed to match that of the woods after a long rain. All of this mixed with her sporty build lead Peeta to believe that she liked to play outside. Peeta is about to say something else to the little girl, but is soon cut off by a scream from the teacher.

**END FLASHBACK/ DREAM SEQUENCE**

Peeta opens his eyes quickly, and looks around. Of course it had all been a dream, he was no longer a bashful five-year old. Peeta hears another scream and pinches himself to make sure that he is in fact awake. Once the scream echoes for a third time he realizes that it is his mother calling him to go down to work.

He quickly throws away the comforter and forces himself on to his feet. Now begins the search for a pair of semi-dirty clothes to wear down to the bakery. He knows that whatever he wears is only going to end up covered in flour so he may as well just wear something that is already dirty. After about a minute of searching his eyes lock on a black t-shirt that lies on the floor. He tries to remember for a moment when he had worn this but can't so he just quickly throws it over his head, and grabs a pair of jeans sliding them on his sturdy legs before making his way down the stairs.

Once he makes the turn around the corner he notices his mother standing there with an impatient look on her face. "Where were you?" She asks with a tone that is somewhere between anger and frustration. He has to make up his mind on how to answer quickly. He needs a reason that sounds valid, but since he cannot think of one he just sighs and whispers his answer, "I overslept. Don't worry it won't happen aga-"Before he can finish she takes her hand and slaps him across the face. "Damn right it won't happen again. Now get to work." He holds the spot on his face that she just assaulted, and nods, "yes, ma'am."

Peeta makes his way to the back of the bakery silently, making sure to avoid the eyes of his father, and both of his brothers. Everyone knows that Mrs. Mellark abuses her sons, but no one reports her for fear of what will happen to the boys. The last thing that people want is for them to be placed in foster care. The Mellark boys never have a single bad thing to say about their mother though, in fact from hearing them talk about her one would think that she is a saint.

Now that he was alone, Peeta could do the two things that he loved most in the world. First he got a fresh cake and his frosting utensils, before proceeding to decorate the cake, and the second thing he did was fantasize about Katniss. Like what it would be like to talk about her, hug her and even kiss her. It was normally about this point in his day-dream that his mother would walk in and yell at him for wasting time, but it didn't come today. Instead he took note of a faint knock on the back door. "This is weird," he thought to himself, "no one ever uses the backdoor." He opened the door and his words caught in the back of his throat. He was staring into the stormy grey eyes of he loved. The visitor was none other than Katniss Everdeen

**Authors Note: Leave me a review. Tell me why you think Katniss is here. I would love some suggestions. :D**


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